Monday, November 15, 2010

1st Thess. 5:18…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (ESV)Over the next several blogs, I will have several of our staff members as “guest bloggers” writing about things they are thankful for in their ministry at Trinity. God has been exceedingly good to us as a Church, and it is good for us to take some time to give thanks to God, and the Body at Trinity, for what is going on. Let me say in advance, that no staff member has looked at the other blogs to get ideas so; if anything is repetitive it is strictly because they have been blessed. As of writing this blog, these men have not shown me or spoken with me about what they are writing. I believe this holiday season will be a sweet time for Trinity and this is a great opportunity for these wonderful, Godly men I serve with to just stop and share their thankfulness. I will begin by saying I am thankful for Trinity in many areas - but for the sake of time and space I will name two.

First, I am thankful for the growth in our families over this past year. It has been overwhelming as I listen to so many of our men that have stepped up and are now leading their homes in family worship. I’m blessed and encouraged by the number of books we have sold that aid in teaching doctrine – and we have had great openness and honesty regarding the struggles we all face in leading in our families as we study together! The number of books that have been purchased and actually being read is nothing short of phenomenal. It has lead to us having more people who think Biblically, who see and understand roles in the family and the ministry of the body. It has led to an increased comprehension of accountability to one another in the church. It has led to open and honest communication of struggles and victories. It has helped marriages, and has given Biblical application in our day to day lives. This statistic is not one that churches make graphs and charts on, but it yields results in the Kingdom of God – and, after all, that is the audience with whom we should be most consumed. I am excited about where this depth of growth and study leads over the next few years as we see what God’s grace produces in this Body of Christ!

Lastly, I am thankful for these men of God that will be writing on this blog for the next few weeks. Their passion for Christ, the accountability we have within our staff, their love and sacrifice for this body – all of this makes it a wonderful honor to serve here. Over the past 17 years, Trinity had watched over 50 staff members come and go, leaving no consistent path of ministry. This is not a knock against a single one of the prior staff members - it just explained a lack of direction in many ministry areas. The top two concerns I had when praying and searching for staff was (1) Doctrine and (2) Commitment. I wanted men who knew the Word of God and who could teach doctrine… but I also wanted men who would be committed to Trinity. We needed men who would make a commitment for the long haul. Over the last two years it has (some times) been humorous to note the number of people who have asked me, and almost every staff member, the question, “You guys aren’t leaving, are you?” Let me state this for the record – we, as a staff, are committed to this body, to carry out the work God has called us to do. We, as a Church, are not what we should be, but praise God, we aren’t what we used to be and, better than that…we aren’t what we are gonna be! Thank you for allowing me to serve as your Pastor and thank you for loving these wonderful men of God that we have serving at Trinity. I hope you enjoy their posts over the next couple of weeks.